Love Squared
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: As the marriage between Addison and Derek begins to dissolve, Alex discovers a surprising fact about himself: he can't stand seeing his boss in pain. The sexiest thing about her had always been her smile.
1. Chapter 1

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Karev's Ass

**A/N: Hi, people! Okay, so here's the deal: I'm a major Addison-shipper. I love Addek, Addisex, and Paddison. BUT Paddison is not applicable in this fic (and they're already in two of my other fics) so this fic is about Addek and Addisex. It's set in season 2 of Grey's Anatomy, during Blues for Sister Someone, when Addison and Alex first start working together. And yes, Addison is still married to Derek. It's going to follow at least this episode's frame of events (with a few added scenes from me, and I think I'll make Callie and Addison friends in this), but after that, it's probably gonna be my storyline all the way. This chapter is just setting up the scene, with a little fun at the end. Enjoy!**

Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd hated backtalk, especially when it came from cocky interns named Alex Karev.

"I don't do vagina, not as a doctor, anyway," Karev said scornfully, fully expecting to get away with mouthing off to an attending.

Addison wanted nothing else but to slap that smug look off his twelve-year-old face, but she settled with saying, "Oh back talk. You know what? You've just bought yourself a case." She kept her eyes on the chart she was dumping in his arms so he wouldn't see the look of triumph in them. Addison could already tell that torturing Karev would be fun. "Read up on the case and be ready to round on Rose Ward in a half hour." With those last instructions, she turned and walked toward the attendings' locker room to drop off her stuff.

Alex wanted to do nothing other than chuck that chart right after Addison, but he had to admit, the woman was hot. He couldn't help but watch her click-clack away from him, her stilettos making her legs seem to go on forever, or at least until they reached the black pencil-skirt she was wearing. Grumbling when she disappeared around a corner, Karev set to work on reading Rose Ward's chart.

**8D**

Addison checked her watch. Seven. Karev was officially late. Today was _not_ the day for Karev to piss her off. Mumbling under her breath, she bent over the nurses' station counter to catch up on her other patients' progress. She stayed like that, hunched over her charts, while she sipped her coffee.

_Ugh!_ She thought to herself. _All I needed was some hot, sweaty sex! And Derek couldn't deliver, again! We never used to have bad sex. _

Alex, on the other hand, was just about jogging to the nurses' station when he realized he was late. He was just about to call out her name when he saw her bending over the counter, with her ass – her absolutely _gorgeous_ ass – sticking out and a stiletto slightly off the ground. He hated Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, to be sure, but she had never looked sexier than she did right then.

He stood there for a moment, admiring the view, when he realized he was only getting even more late. He started walking toward her when Callie passed him and started talking to Addison.

"Addison, can I have like five minutes of chat-time, or are you still pissed off at Derek?" she asked. Alex decided to stay and listen. Why was Addison pissed at Derek?

Addison looked up at her friend and sighed. "I just need some _good_ sex right now, you know?" the redhead whined. "Derek is great at getting me all worked up, and then does _nothing_ to satisfy me!" she whispered indignantly. Alex's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. Addison wasn't frustrated at _him_, she was frustrated at _Derek_ for not making her happy! Oh, this was just _perfect_. Just what Alex needed, to find out that the object of his sexual desires was horny. _Perfect_.

"Oh, then you're going to hate me," Callie admitted.

Addison finally straightened and glared at the ortho resident. "I'll bet _you_ were satisfied last night," she sulked. Callie nodded. "So you and O'Malley are official then?"

"I guess we are," Callie giggled.

"Well, then I guess I'm happy for you," Addison replied. She looked at her watch again. Ten past seven. "Ugh, when Karev gets here I'm going to _kill_ him for being late!" she declared. Alex jumped, he really had been standing and watching her for ten minutes, and now she was _actually_ pissed at him.

"What?" Callie asked, pointing straight at him over her shoulder. "He's been there since I've been talking to you."

Addison's eyes narrowed when she looked over to where Callie was pointing and saw Karev trying to look as if he wasn't just eavesdropping on their entire conversation. Addison suddenly felt something drop in her stomach—humiliation. He had probably just heard all her crabbing about needing sex. Great.

"Karev, get over here," she barked. Callie made herself scarce when she saw the attending's face, and Alex wished he could do just the same. "If you're ever late again, you'll be on rectile exams for a month."

**8D**

"You don't need our help. Your husband's not abusing you and you don't get to lie to him and blame it on the Pope," Karev said. The look on Rose's face made Addison want to slap him (_again!_) and make him apologize, but she had to stay professional.

Addison made an apologetic look to Rose and then hurried Karev out into the hallway, fully intending to make him explain himself. "Dr. Karev--"

Karev gave her no opportunity to scold him, though, when he saw that he had a chance to get off the case. "No offense, but I have no interest in obstetrics or gynecology, Dr. Shepherd," he declared, smirking. "So if you wanna throw me off the case, feel free."

"Dr. Karev, I may be a board certified OB-GYN, but I also have fellowships in maternal fetal medicine and medical genetics and I'm one of the foremost neonatal surgeons in this country. When you can top that, you can mouth off. Until then you will do your job and you will do it right, which at this point time means you keep your mouth shut unless I give you permission to open it! Understood?" Addison was less than a foot away from Karev now, waiting for his answer. "Understood?" she repeated. He needed to stop looking at her like that!

"Oh, are you giving me permission now?" There was that mouth again. Addison shoved the chart at him and couldn't help but stare after him as he walked off. Did he seriously just say that to her?

**8D**

Later, when Addison was doing an ultrasound of Rose's baby, she tried again to convince her to go on the pill. But then Rose said something that stopped her.

"The reason that we haven't had a baby in four years is because we abstained for three. Can you imagine not being able to make love to your husband?"

Addison _really_ didn't want to answer that question, because it was all too close to home. She wanted to make love to her husband, but his heart never seemed into it. Sure he wanted _sex_, but never to make love. Of course, there was no way she could professionally answer that question, so she just looked a little bit guilty. And Karev saw. Well, great.

_Wait, _she thought. _Why do I care if Karev saw?_

After a few minutes and a few other inappropriate comments from Karev, Rose told Addison to look at Karev. When she did, she saw a pissed off intern...but a very hot pissed off intern.

_Stop it, Addison!_ she yelled at herself. _You don't need to sleep with an intern to get good sex. You can get amazing sex with your husband._ Addison wished she didn't feel like she was trying to convince herself.

**8D**

During surgery, Addison decided to follow her patient's wishes and tie her fallopian tubes, but not before Karev made a small scene in the OR by refusing to pass her the bovi. Then she was confronted by Richard saying that Rose's husband was considering legal action, and she knew immediately who had tipped Mr. Ward off.

Now, it was the end of the day, and Addison was heading up to the attending's locker room to gather her belongings and go home for the night when she passed Karev. He might not have meant for her to hear, but she picked up on the smug tone when he whispered, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Addison stopped climbing the stairs and turned to Karev, smiling. "Dr. Karev," she said. "You did such a good job today that I'm gonna talk to Dr. Bailey and have you assigned to my service." She wanted to jump up and down, clapping her hands as that smirk slid off his face.

"What? For how long?" he demanded.

"For as long as I want. Your ass is mine until I say otherwise," Addison declared triumphantly. "Congratulations." With that, she continued on her way to the locker room, sporting a smirk of her own.

Alex watched her go with a heated, loathing glare. If he wasn't so steamed at her, he would have noticed how sexy she sounded when she talked about his ass. If he didn't hate her so much at that moment, he also would have noticed how her eyes quickly looked him up and down before she turned to leave.

**8D**

Back in the trailer, Addison poured herself a glass of scotch with one hand while she let down her hair with the other. On top of all the yelling, the lawsuits, the Alex Karevs, she was getting a headache. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

When Derek came home, she remembered she had asked him to wait for her before coming home and that she hadn't waited for him, so she started ranting while she took off her stockings with one hand.

"You will not believe the day I had," she started, " I went out of my way to get a patient exactly what she wants only to have it explode in my face. I mean lawsuit, threats. Richard's pissed, and don't even get me started on Alex Karev." _Because I found myself wanting to smack him and jump him at the same time. _Damn _you, Derek! If you would just give me some decent, hot sex, I wouldn't be thinking about an intern!_

"Get in the shower," Derek told her. She just realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and he was taking off his pants.

"What?" Was he actually going to answer her silent plea? She hadn't said that out loud, had she? The shower was running, now.

"Get in the shower with me," Derek clarified. Now Addison couldn't tell if he wanted sex or if he just wanted to scrub her back.

"Honey, it's a very small shower."

"You wanna have hot sex?" There, the words she finally needed to hear. Addison stared at him for a moment longer before starting to remove her skirt and blouse.

"Thank you," she said, stepping out of her clothes.

Their lips met, and it was like a fire was ignited. They played a game of back and forth, trying to bury themselves in each other's kisses, when they finally made their way into the shower. The water hit her back and Addison squealed a little bit. The water was cold!

Derek started giggling, but then Addison stepped all the way out of the way to let the cold water hit his entire front and _he_ was the one squealing. Addison only had a moment to giggle when Derek grabbed her by the back of the neck and brought her mouth to his, pressing her between him and the wall of the shower.

**8D**

The sun peeked into the trailer, hitting a very relaxed and satisfied Addison as she stretched out on the bed. Well, she stretched until she didn't feel a body right next to her.

Sitting up, Addison was about to call Derek's name to see if he was on the patio when she saw him standing right in front of her. He had made her breakfast, and he was holding it on a tray, complete with the paper and a tiny daisy in a glass.

"Now, I could get used to this." She smiled at her husband's thoughtfulness.

"I could say the same," he replied, his eyes raking her body hungrily. It was then that Addison realized she was on top of the covers—and naked.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter 1. Wow that ended up a whole lot longer than I thought, but then I saw how many Alex and Addison scenes there were in this one episode so I only did some of them. As you can see in that last little snippet, the story probably won't be following the plotlines or scripts of the oncoming episodes. But PLEASE tell me if you liked it. Or if you disliked it. Just REVIEW!**


	2. False Impressions

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 2: False Impressions

**A/N: So it's been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that! I've had a super busy summer, and so updating anything has been a little bit of a challenge. But I'm still at work and I still have nothing to do, so here you go. I hope you like it!**

**Dude. I'm pissed at Starbucks. I asked for a Grande Iced Coffee with Nonfat Milk and Sweetener. What did I get? A Grande Iced Coffee with SO MUCH Nonfat Milk that it looks like some odd milkshake and NO sweetener. Not cool.**

Addison and Derek went to work together for once, in the same car at the same time. Derek surprised Addison after her first surgery of the day by being there as soon as it was over and holding two cups of coffee in his hand.

The redhead smiled and reached for the coffee cup. "Aw, that's so sweet," she declared, but Derek moved the cups away from her outstretched hand.

"I'm afraid I'm not so sweet," he smirked. Addison raised an eyebrow at him, obviously jones-ing for coffee at the time. "I need something first." He leaned his head a little closer to her, hoping his wife would get the message.

"Of course," Addison granted, leaning in for a kiss. While he was distracted, she snatched a cup out of his hands and started walking to the nurses' station. "Ha!" she teased as she walked past him.

Derek grabbed her by the waist with his now free hand and pulled her in for an actual kiss, a deep kiss. "Good morning," he greeted after he pulled away, leaving her slightly out of breath.

Addison had to grab onto his bicep to stay steady. That was one hell of a kiss! "Morning," she answered breathily. She covered her small smile by taking a sip of the coffee he brought her while she looked over the rim at him. "Boy," she started, "this is a good day."

"I'd say so." Derek was smiling like a lovesick idiot. "I came to work with an amazingly hot woman, and I get to go home with her, too, if you know what I mean." Addison giggled at his slightly frat-boy phrasing. "The rest of the day could suck and I'd still call it a good day."

Addison started laughing when her eye caught the time. "Uh, Derek? You have a surgery in five minutes." Her husband's head whipped around to look at the clock hanging over the OR board.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, turning back to face Addison. "Okay, this coffee date was a dud. How about after I get out of surgery, we go get some lunch?" Addison's eyes lit up as she nodded vigorously. How long had it been since they had had a lunch date? "Okay, kiss." The redhead acquiesced to his request this time, softly and sweetly placing her lips on his. "Bye."

"Bye," she replied. As Addison watched him go, she couldn't help but muse over the sudden turnaround in their relationship. He was the Derek she fell in love with again, the Derek who constantly flirted with her, the Derek who always smiled when he saw her, the Derek who had trouble paying attention to anything _but _her, especially when it involved being on time.

Smiling to herself, she made her way to the nurses station to fill out her patient's chart when she heard Bailey's interns gossiping around the corner. They were in plain sight and earshot of Addison, but they didn't seem to notice she was there, so she just kept looking at the chart and started to listen in.

"So I saw Derek last night," Meredith Grey said. Addison's head almost snapped up when she heard her say those words.

"What? Why?" Izzie Stevens asked. Addison leaned in a little further so she could hear them better.

"I was at Finn's, and we'd just had a great date," Meredith started. "I helped him birth a horse, and while, yes, it sounds gross, it was amazing. I was all disgusting when we got back to his place so he let me shower and borrow some of his clothes. Then Derek shows up holding Doc, saying he was sick again. I'm pretty sure he thought I slept with Finn, because he acted really weird toward me."

Addison's heart fell. So the sex last night was just some twisted sort of revenge on Meredith Grey? He'd just wanted to have hot sex because he thought she'd had hot sex with someone else?

"Well, apparently, he's over it already," Christina Yang, Meredith's intimidating and ambitious best friend, declared.

"What do you mean?" Izzie asked again. Apparently, all she could contribute to the conversation were questions.

"McDreamy and McHot were McNauseating when she got out of surgery," Christina answered. Addison laughed inwardly. So she was McHot, huh? She could work with that. "He brought her coffee, and they started kissing like teenagers. It made me want to hurl something at them just so I wouldn't hurl." Addison grinned at that, taking satisfaction in the fact that Meredith was hearing about how she and Derek were happy this morning. Not that she was competing with her or anything. Of course not!

"That was fast," Karev mumbled.

"What was?" Christina pushed, wanting more gossip.

"Yesterday, the She-Shepherd was all cranky, and I'm pretty sure it was because she and Shepherd _couldn't_ have good sex." Addison's head _did_ whip up at that, but none of the interns noticed. Alex had no right eavesdropping on her conversation with Callie! _Oh, he's gonna have hell today,_ she thought quietly to herself.

"So you're saying they had good sex last night?" George O'Malley chimed in, surprising Addison. He never struck her as a gossip.

"I'm saying that Yang wouldn't have seen them so cozy with each other if they hadn't," Alex explained. He looked up and the blood drained out of his face when he saw who was at the Nurses' Station. "Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd," he announced, signaling the cessation of any conversation they may or may not have been having at that moment. "How are you doing today?"

Addison smiled wickedly and decided to play with his head a little bit. "Just fine, thank you," she replied cordially. "So who were you talking about just now?"

"What do you mean?" Alex said after realizing none of the other interns wanted in on this discussion. They'd pay for that later.

"I heard you mention something about Yang seeing some people particularly cozy today," Addison answered easily, closing the chart and turning to them. She giggled to herself when she realized she'd picked up on her husband's habit of leaning against things.

Relief showed on each of the five interns' faces. They thought she didn't know who they were talking about. Oh, this was going to be fun. Alex scrambled to make up a fake couple. "Uh, the psych intern and the peds intern. Apparently, they were cute enough to make Yang want to vomit." Christina elbowed Alex in the ribs at that last part, making him grunt and glare at the Korean woman.

Nodding her head with a fake fascinated expression on her face, she spoke slowly, "Interesting. Now, is there any reason you guys are gossiping about others' romantic lives when there's a full pit downstairs?" The interns collectively jumped and started to make their way to the elevators. "That's what I thought." Alex tried to sneak off with the other four. "Karev, not so fast," she called out, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't forget, you're on my service."

Alex plastered on a smile before turning around to face his new boss. "Of course, how could I forget?" he asked sarcastically.

The fun had passed. Addison's smile slid off her face and a slightly disapproving look took its place. "Good. Follow me," she ordered. She grabbed the chart she had pretended to read and started walking past her intern, but when she passed his ear she whispered threateningly, "Gossip about my sex life again and you'll never leave my service."

Alex's eyes widened in surprise. She had heard the whole thing. Trudging after her, the only thing he could do was admire the view from behind. He had a feeling he would be doing that for a _very_ long time. Only one thought ran through his mind now:

_I'm screwed._

**8D**

Derek had a table all to himself in the cafeteria. He'd gotten the best table—the one right in the middle of the food court. A tray with chicken breast and pesto pasta and a coke sat in front of him, and a tray with Caesar salad with grilled chicken and green tea sat beside it. Casting his gaze around the atrium, he finally saw his wife strutting in on her impossibly high heels like the hallway was a catwalk.

"Hello," she greeted, bending to peck him on the lips before sitting down in front of the tray with the salad. "Oh, this looks yummy!" She inspected it closer, looking at her husband suspiciously. "This doesn't look like hospital food."

"That's because it's not," Derek confirmed. "I went to the sandwich shop across the street and got our lunch." Smiling, he wiped off a bit of Caesar dressing that had already managed to land itself on Addison's cheek.

"Then what's with the trays?"

"Wanted to see if I could fool you." Addison rolled her eyes and took another bite of her salad. "So how was your day?"

Addison stopped looking happy at her husband's thoughtfulness and started looking annoyed. "Spent with immature interns who talk too much."

"Really?" Derek cut into his chicken breast. "I couldn't even find mine. Dr. Stevens was supposed to be my intern for the day."

"That's because I sent them down to the pit," Addison confessed.

"What? Why?"

"Because they were gossiping about our sex lives, Derek, yours and mine," Addison explained, hoping to see alarm or indignation in those strikingly blue eyes, but instead she saw a hint of satisfaction. "They insinuated that the only reason we're getting along so well is to get back at Meredith for having hot sex last night with Dr. Dandridge, which she didn't."

Derek's eyes widened, and this time they really were filled with shock. "They thought you and I had sex to get _revenge_?"

Now Addison was genuinely confused. When she saw that satisfaction, that smugness in Derek's eyes, wasn't it because he knew Meredith would be hearing about it? "Um, yeah," she responded. "We didn't, right?"

Derek grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Of course, we didn't," he affirmed gently. "I'll admit that I did get a little jealous when I saw Meredith come down the vet's stairs, but it was only because _we_ were having a difficult time having sex, not because it was Meredith." He tilted his head and saw the worry coming through in his wife's eyes. "You were actually concerned, weren't you?"

Sniffing, Addison nodded. "I brought up that they were talking about our sex lives, and you were happy. I could tell," she said.

"Of course, I was happy. I would much rather have them gossiping about you and me having great sex than them talking about you and me fighting or calling you Satan." Guilt was written all over the neurosurgeon's face. "Although, that last part wouldn't be an issue if I hadn't been so stupid."

"Really?" Addison asked, looking hopeful.

"Really." Derek scooted his chair closer to Addison's and enveloped her in a tight hug. "I love _you_," he murmured in her ear, "not Meredith."

"That's the first time you've said that since I came," Addison declared, pulling back from the hug with a huge smile on her face and a tear running down her cheek.

Derek softly wiped off the tear. "And I plan on saying it a whole lot more, so get used to it." Addison laughed such a carefree, beautiful laugh that she had Derek smiling and laughing himself.

**8D**

Alex walked past the married attendings and dropped his tray on the interns' table. "I get what you meant about the McNauseating couple," he told Christina, nodding his head toward the center of the cafeteria.

"Aw, jealous?" Christina teased.

A little too emphatically, Alex shook his head and quickly denied it. "Of McDreamy? No way in hell would I be jealous that he got Satan."

"You have to admit," Izzie started, "you two would fit together."

"What? How?" Alex hated it when they started to gang up on him.

"Satan and Evil Spawn," Christina finished for Izzie, laughing. "Barbie's right. That's a perfect match!" Alex threw a fry at her.

**A/N: Okay, be proud of me. I wrote 2,101 words. It doesn't matter that over half of those words I wrote at work, because I wrote it a **_**lot **_**quicker at work due to the fact that I broke down and brought my laptop to work, eliminating the need to type up a chapter on my phone and email it to myself. I just hope I don't get yelled at for **_**bringing**_** my laptop to work. I shouldn't, though, but I might if anybody sees that I'm not working on my college application essays, which is what I plan to say if anybody asks me why I brought my laptop to work. Okay, I'm rambling now. Feel free to stop my rambling at any time by **_**REVIEWING.**_** Thank you!**


	3. That Red Dress

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: That Red Dress

**A/N: Dedicated to Ocean of Ashes for reminding me to update this story.**

Addison had a $25 million trust fund. She was born with a lot of money, and she made more money than any attending in Seattle Grace (she loved being Richard's favorite sometimes). That being said, Addison didn't find it at all outrageous to buy a dress she was only going to wear once for $135. In fact, she considered it to be a steal. It was a gorgeous red dress, with a sparkly, halter bodice and a straight skirt that flowed gracefully to the ground. The red complimented her red hair perfectly, which she put up into a fancy version of the French braid. Addison knew she looked hot.

So why was she standing alone at the prom _again_? Why did she feel like the dorky seventeen year-old with braces and a date who could only talk about Star Wars again? Sure, Addison was now a gorgeous, leggy, successful thirty-eight year-old with perfect teeth and a date who people called McDreamy. But her date, even if he _was_ her husband, didn't seem to be thrilled to be there with her.

Addison kept telling herself it was just that Derek didn't want to be at the prom and that it wasn't the being there with _her_ part that bothered him. He held her close while dancing, his hand on her waist, his other hand holding hers close to his chest. They made quiet conversation like they always did while dancing, and for a while it felt like what they had in New York, before he became absent. Then for no apparent reason, he excused himself, coming up with "needing to check up on a patient," and Addison was left standing alone in the middle of the dance floor again.

She wanted to laugh at herself. She was always dancing alone, no matter who was her date, no matter how hot she looked. She wanted to laugh at herself so much it made her want to puke.

**8D**

Alex quickly stepped out of Meredith's harried path out of the atrium, noticing Derek excused himself soon after she left. He tried to erase the image that lay in front of his eyes: Addison standing in the middle of the dance floor, hugging her arms as if she was suddenly cold and following her husband with her eyes full of sadness.

Even from across the room, he could see her heave a great sigh before she made her way to the punch. He watched her pour herself a cup and then go to sit down at a table—alone. She crossed her legs and rested the red punch on her red knee, gazing down into the liquid as if she wanted to drown herself in it.

For once, Alex actually saw Addison hurting. She always looked strong and confident, even when her husband was being a total ass to her, like he was being right then. She never let it get to her, but today she did. Today his heart broke a little bit each time his glance wandered to her.

It was then that Alex realized what was happening. He actually had _feelings_ for the She-Shepherd! He'd always chalked it up to lust, but never once had he cared how she felt. This was a first of epic proportions. Sure, he'd cared about Izzie, but obviously not enough not to cheat on her. He also didn't want to punch out any person that hurt Izzie like he wanted to for Addison.

Alex had no idea when his legs started moving, but he found himself standing in front of Addison, who was staring up at him, confused beyond belief.

"Yes, Karev?" she prompted.

"Would you like to dance?" Okay, obviously, something was off in his mind. He apparently had no control over his body anymore.

Addison's mouth dropped open in surprise, floored. Only one thought was coherent in her mind at that moment, and that was _SERIOUSLY?!_ "Uh, sure," she finally answered, her eyebrows scrunching up in puzzlement. She took his proffered hand and stood up.

The two walked to the dance floor hand in hand, passing Callie on the way there. Callie did a double-take, mouthing "What the hell?" to Addison.

Addison shrugged and mouthed "I have no idea," back to her friend. Her eyes were wide as she did that, and they grew even wider when Alex brought her close to his body for the slow dance. His left hand rested on the small of her back, and his right hand held her left between them. There was hardly space to breathe between them. "Uh, Karev?" the redhead started. "Are you alright?"

He looked into her big blue eyes for a moment before answering. "I'm fine, why?" She looked down at their situation in reply. Her chest—her entire torso—was pushed up against his, and her right arm rested on his left, not to mention the fact that he held her other one like her husband used to. "Oh, is this uncomfortable for you?"

If she answered honestly, that probably would not go over so well with the many people who were eyeing them in curiosity, and it would just further prove to them that she wasn't good enough for Derek. "It's just a little close, that's all," she said. She didn't want to admit that she enjoyed the attention, the tenderness with which he held her, the closeness of their bodies. She didn't want to admit that she wanted the song to go on forever. "And this was one of the last things I thought would happen tonight."

"Why?" Alex's eyes never left hers, and he made no motion to break their contact even after she said they were too close.

"Well, we don't exactly get along at work." She tried for diplomacy, but when Alex chuckled she knew she'd missed diplomacy altogether. His laugh sent vibrations down her body, bringing a certain awareness to her core.

"I guess that's true," he agreed jovially. He was smiling at her. It wasn't one of his smug smirks, but a genuinely good-natured smile.

"So then why are you being so...normal?" she queried, amusement flashing in her eyes at the subtle insult.

"Can't a guy just ask the pretty girl to dance without getting interrogated about his intentions?" he deflected, not wanting to tell her the real reason for fear that it might wipe that happy expression off her face.

She opened her mouth to answer when Alex felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Addison's husband standing there with a shadow on his face. "Can I cut in?" he asked, glaring at the intern. Alex quickly dropped the redhead's hand and stepped away from her.

"Sorry," he apologized to the neurosurgeon and his wife. He hurried off the dance floor.

Derek resumed dancing with Addison, looking at her with a slightly accusatory expression. "What was that?"

"You didn't have to be so rude," she chastised. "We were having a civilized conversation for once."

"Would you rather dance with him then?" he shot back. "I can go get him for you, let you spend the rest of the night with him." He almost wanted her to say yes, because then he would feel less guilty for what he'd just done.

Addison stared at her husband in shock. She stopped dancing and hugged herself again like she always did when she was hurt. "I want to go home," she whispered, willing herself not to cry right there in the middle of the prom. Her blue eyes watered as she looked up at Derek, and she bit her lip to keep any other sound from coming out.

Derek saw the signs of distress in his wife. She needed to get out _now_ or she'd break down. Nodding his head, he put his arm around her shoulders and started to guide her toward the doors, picking up her coat on the way out and feeling guiltier than ever.

**8D**

Her red dress lay in a heap on the floor beside the bed, and Addison lay on her side under the covers in nothing but her slip. She'd taken her hair down from its braid, and it lay in waves on the pillow behind her. She clutched the plaid blanket closer to her when she felt her husband get in beside her and hesitantly put his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.

"I'm sorry," he declared softly into her hair, "for everything." _Every_thing.

Addison's hand reached down and held the hand that was draped around her waist. She brought it up and hugged it to her chest. She kissed his knuckles and murmured back that it was okay, but she never turned around so he wouldn't see the puffy red eyes or the trail of tears that marred her face.

**A/N: Sorry, I couldn't make Derek a **_**complete**_** ass. I always thought that he was such a dick for how he ended things with Addison, and I decided to rewrite that. As much as I love Addison and Alex together, I really hate the fact that eleven years of marriage goes to waste. So I really don't know who to choose. Please help me decide! REVIEW!**


	4. In My Pocket

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: In My Pocket

**A/N: So I've officially decided who the lucky winner is! Whether or not you find out in this chapter depends on my fingers, because my brain apparently has no say in how the story goes. **

**A/N2: This chapter is a little bit more emotional than I intended it to be. Sorry if you don't like emotional, but you should still read!  
**

Addison woke up in Derek's arms, almost the exact same position in which they'd fallen asleep. As quietly as possible, Addison slipped out from under the covers and Derek's arm. She stopped moving, however, when her feet touched the ground.

The red dress still lay crumpled on the floor. Addison stared at it for a few seconds, after which she continued getting out of bed. She gathered the soft red fabric in a small bundle and threw it into the laundry machine on her way to the bathroom of the very tiny trailer.

The woman in the mirror—the puffy-eyed, tired woman with cheeks that matched her hair—was completely foreign to Addison, and yet she'd seen her before. In New York. Closing her eyes in disgust, she left the view of the mirror and walked across the "hall" to the shower.

**8D**

Alex watched the woman from afar for a little bit. She looked tired. Okay, so she looked exactly the same as always—gorgeous, confident, strong and sexy—but she _seemed_ tired to Alex.

Taking a deep breath, he approach her and offered her one of the cups of coffee he was holding. "You look like you could use a pick-me-up," he explained.

Addison raised her head from the chart she was reading and took in the sight before her. Alex Karev, holding coffee, and actually acting thoughtful. Smiling slightly, she accepted the coffee and put the cup up to her lips. "Thanks," she murmured over the rim.

"So what's wrong?" Alex asked, sipping his own coffee as he leaned against the counter behind him.

"What makes you think anything is wrong?" Addison wrote something in her patient's chart and flipped it closed, giving Alex her full attention.

"Well, normally, you would have made some sarcastic comment about me being civil for once," he quipped, feeling a small sense of triumph when he saw the corners of the redhead's lips curve upward slightly.

"It _is_ kind of weird," she commented.

Alex allowed himself to chuckle at her smooth reply before diving right back in. "Seriously, what's up?" He saw hesitation appear in her eyes. "It's okay. You can tell me."

Addison quirked an eyebrow at him. Had the prom been some sort of turning point in their relationship or was he just being friendly? Either way, she found herself confiding in the intern. "Derek and I had a little thing after you left."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I got on his case for being so rude to you when we were having what was probably our first civilized conversation, and he got all weird and defensive." Alex's face darkened. Addison may not know the reason behind her husband's odd behavior, but Alex had a pretty good idea. "He thought I wanted to sleep with you."

Alex froze with his coffee halfway to his mouth. "W-What?" he sputtered. "What did you say?"

Something was different about Alex's voice. It was higher, but Addison couldn't pinpoint why. "I pulled away from him and told him I wanted to go home." She sighed and turned so her back was against the counter, sipping her coffee. "I just feel like he's slipping away again."

"Again?"

Addison looked at Alex from the corner of her eyes, debating whether or not to tell him her side of the story. "In New York, about a year before Derek came out here, he started working more," she started. "He'd come home later and later, leave earlier. He even missed our tenth anniversary because he decided work was more important. Somewhere during that year, I lost my Derek. I didn't know him anymore, and I just snapped. Mark came over one night and told me that Derek wasn't going to be home in time for dinner yet again." Addison paused once again, closing her eyes. "I asked him if Derek still loved me. When he couldn't answer me, I broke down. I couldn't stand the thought of being alone again, so when Mark kissed me I didn't stop it. Then Derek showed up."

Alex didn't know what to say. Shepherd's story was so different. His always made her seem like the adulterous bitch and him seem like the perfect husband who'd been betrayed. Now, after hearing Addison's side of the story, Alex wanted to punch Shepherd out more than ever.

"And when you came here, he called you Satan," Alex prompted darkly. She nodded slowly.

"Things have been better though," Addison said into her coffee. "But for the fight, things have been a lot easier than before."

"He's your Derek again?" Alex wanted to vomit at that, but not because it was so cheesy.

She shook her head, still gazing into her coffee cup. "I don't think he'll ever be that Derek again," she declared sadly. "But at least he's trying, now. It's not just me trying to fix our marriage."

Alex wanted to scream at her and shake her by the shoulders and tell her that he _wasn't_ trying, that he was screwing Meredith in exam rooms and then yelling at _Addison_. But instead he tore his eyes away from the sad redhead and muttered, "Well, that's good."

**8D**

Addison dragged her feet entering the trailer. She truly _hated_ this trailer. She didn't understand any of the appeal it had to her husband, but he loved it so she stayed.

Dropping her bag by the door, she looked to the bed and saw his tux lying in a heap beside it. Derek was never one for good housekeeping.

_At least that's still the same_, she mused to herself, making her way to the other end of the trailer. Bending down, she picked up the suit and dress shirt. Opening up the door to the washing machine, Addison saw a flash of her red dress before flicking in his shirt. It didn't matter that his shirt was white—she had found an amazing detergent that kept colors from bleeding so she didn't have to go through all that separating-darks-from-lights crap.

Addison thrust her hands into the pockets of his tux jacket and took out some spare change and the receipt from the restaurant they went to before prom. After chucking it into the washing machine, she did the same for the pants.

Her hand wrapped around something soft and silky. Addison's head turned toward the table. No, his handkerchief was sitting next to the receipt, so that couldn't have been in his pants. Extracting her hand from the pants pocket, Addison opened her fist.

A pair of black panties rested, crumpled, in her palm.

**A/N: So I'm pretty sure you can tell who the final pairing is going to include. If you still can't, well, look at the tagged pairing—that's right. I've changed it. Now you know what you should do? Freaking **_**REVIEW**_**.**


	5. Alright

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5: Alright

**A/N: I can't believe it's only been a month since I updated. It feels like it has been so much longer. This is what senior year is doing to me. Completely robbing me of any sense of time.**

_Her hand wrapped around something soft and silky. Addison's head turned toward the table. No, his handkerchief was sitting next to the receipt, so that couldn't have been in his pants. Extracting her hand from the pants pocket, Addison opened her fist. _

_A pair of black panties rested, crumpled, in her palm._

Mechanically, Addison dropped the tux pants and reached for the phone. Her hand clenched around the panties as she dialed the pager number and then her own number. When she heard the telltale beeping and the automated, "Thank you," she hung up and sat Indian style on the bed.

**8D**

Alex lay on the bottom bunk in an on-call room, staring at the base of the bed above him, when his beeper went off. He never moved his eyes as he slipped his pager off his waistband and held it in front of his face.

His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Whose number was that? Sitting up, Alex retrieved his cell phone and dialed the unfamiliar phone number.

**8D**

Picking up her ringing phone, Addison held it up to her ear and stared at her fist. "I should probably be more surprised, right?" she greeted.

"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd?" Alex asked in confusion. If there was any person he expected it to be, his boss was like four hundredth on the list.

"Karev, I would really prefer if you didn't call me that right now," she replied. Her last name just made her wince now. "At least for this conversation, Addison will do."

"Okay, Addison," he tried it out. He liked the way it rolled off his tongue, but she didn't sound like he should be smiling at the moment. "What's up? Why should you be more surprised?"

"That I found a pair of black panties in my husband's tux pocket," Addison explained tonelessly. How could she put any emotion in her voice when she felt like she'd been punched in the stomach thirty times? All she felt was dead. "That should be more surprising, right? I should be crying or something."

Alex squeezed his eyes shut. She'd found out. "Is there a reason you're not surprised?" He couldn't let her know that he had known—or at least suspected—all along.

Addison paused. "Is there a reason _you're_ not surprised?" she queried, noticing the way he took her news in stride.

Alex's eyes snapped open. Well, he sucked at acting, apparently. "I might have suspected something happened at the prom," he confessed slowly.

"I should probably be more surprised by that, too," she deadpanned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it would have hurt you too much," he answered truthfully. "I didn't know for sure, but you were looking so sad at prom that I just asked you to dance instead."

"Okay, so that explains one time why you didn't tell me. But what about when I was talking to you about my marriage and how he was finally trying? Why did you stay quiet?"

"I don't know, Addison. I just didn't think you deserved to hear it from me. Shepherd should have been the one to tell you, not me, not the panties."

Addison nodded at that last statement, despite the fact that Alex couldn't see her because they were on the phone. Something he said earlier finally registered. "You were afraid of hurting me?"

"What?"

"Before," Addison persisted, "you said you didn't tell me because it would have hurt me too much, and you wanted to make me feel better by asking me to dance. Why? I thought you hated me."

"I don't...hate's a strong word," Alex stated lamely, earning a halfhearted chuckle from the other end of the line. "You're alright." That comment elicited a full out laugh, and not a self-deprecating one either. Alex heart warmed at the sound of amusement coming from Addison. He was actually helping her feel better.

"Thank you." Addison smiled into the phone. "That's nice to hear." She stared down at the black fabric clutched in her hand, and the smile slowly slid off her face. "What the hell am I supposed to do with these panties?"

A wicked grin bloomed on Alex's face. "Post them up somewhere," he supplied.

"What?"

"Take them and pin them up someplace public, like a bulletin board, in the hospital tomorrow. So Meredith and Derek both know you know and they get a little humiliation of their own," he expounded, very anxious to see the look on both their faces at the sight of black panties hanging on the board.

Addison considered the idea for a moment before smirking slightly. "You're not too bad, Karev," she complimented.

**8D**

The next day Alex could barely contain his laughter as he surreptitiously pulled out his phone and texted Addison.

Addison sat in her office typing on the computer when her BlackBerry beeped. Opening her messages, she clicked on the bolded text.

_Message from Karev:_

_Meredith's face was priceless._

Despite herself, Addison smiled at the text. Clicking the reply button, she quickly typed a few words and hit the send button before she returned to her work.

_Message from Addison M-S:_

_How's Miranda taking it?_

"Karev, if I see that damn phone out one more time, I'm going to throw it into the bay," Bailey promised. Turning her attentions onto the other interns, she began her tirade. "This is a _hospital_, people. Whose panties are on the bulletin board?" she demanded. Meredith looked particularly red. It was _always_ one of her interns.

**8D**

Derek came home to an empty trailer. Addison's Lexus wasn't to be seen, and he didn't trip over any $900 shoes on his way inside. His eyes fell on a note on the table, written in Addison's feminine script.

_Dear Derek,_

_Go, be happy with Meredith. I won't stand in your way anymore. Just sign the papers, and it'll be official. I'm sorry I wasted a year of your life. I'll leave you be now_.

_Love,_

_Addison Forbes Montgomery._

Each word Derek read broke his heart a little bit more, and he lifted the note to see the divorce papers that had been drawn up a year ago with one addition: Addison's signature.

Dropping the note and the papers, he dashed to the back of the trailer and ripped open the closet. The entire right side had been emptied out, and no piles and piles of boxes of shoes cluttered the shelves. All the OB/GYN and neonatal surgery textbooks had been cleared out, as was the magenta stethoscope Addison loved.

The bathroom was devoid of lotions and beauty products, and no pink Venus razor rested on the rack in the shower. No hairdryer, no straightener could be found. There were no empty contact cases in the trash can, and no boxes of contacts lay inside the medicine cabinet.

It was like Addison had never even set foot in the trailer.

Something dinged in the background. Making his way back out to the hallway, he noticed the dryer had stopped running. He opened the hatch to see what had been spinning in it.

Stuffed inside the tiny dryer was his black tux and her red dress. Pulling out his dress shirt, he noticed the pink tinge to it. Her dress had bled into his formerly white shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to let it go.

**A/N: So what do you think? I kinda want to cry now. I'm way too invested in these characters' lives. Hopefully you are, too, and hopefully you'll review! (Yay, I rhymed!)**


	6. In Hiding

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 6: In Hiding

**A/N: Happy New Year! Don't worry, all you Addek fans who are still reading this. Derek is not out of this story forever. I'm significantly changing his reaction to the divorce, because I honestly think he was just an ass about everything in the show. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter!**

_It was like Addison had never even set foot in the trailer._

_Something dinged in the background. Making his way back out to the hallway, he noticed the dryer had stopped running. He opened the hatch to see what had been spinning in it._

_Stuffed inside the tiny dryer were his black tux and her red dress. Pulling out his dress shirt, he noticed the pink tinge to it. Her dress had bled into his formerly white shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to let it go._

Derek was distracted the entire next day, and, try as he might, he couldn't seem to locate his wife. He almost mentally corrected himself that she was now his ex-wife, but he hadn't signed the papers yet. They were still married.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

He'd heard about the panties-on-the-corkboard incident from the previous day, and he mentally slapped himself when he realized that should have been the first clue. He should have thought before sleeping with Meredith, especially about what this was going to do to Addison if she ever found out, which she inevitably would. He should have…he should have done a number of things before jumping into bed with another woman.

There was nobody at the nurses' station where he was standing, so Derek used this opportunity to _physically_ slap himself on his head.

He was an idiot.

**8D**

All day long, Addison kept receiving curious stares when she abruptly changed course, be it into an on-call room, behind a wall or simply in the opposite direction from which she had originally been walking. Every time she saw that familiar mop of wavy dark hair, she scrambled to avoid being seen by the man under that mop. She couldn't handle seeing him just yet. The wound was still too fresh, and it hadn't had any time to scab over. Maybe, once that first thin film of dried blood covered the wound, she could risk letting him see her. Then, once that film became tougher, maybe she could even share awkward pleasantries. But not now. Right now, she was still bleeding, slowly but steadily, and she showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

During one such attempt to avoid her…someone, she ducked into a nearby on-call room without checking to see if anybody was in it. She just slipped in and closed the door as quietly as possible, pressing her forehead against the cool wood and breathing as slowly and as deeply as possible.

"Hey," a familiar voice behind her greeted groggily, causing Addison to jump out of her skin, her stilettos making a clicking noise that echoed throughout the small room as they left the ground and rushed to meet again.

Turning around and leaning against the door with one hand over her heart, Addison took another deep breath before she answered, "Sorry, Karev. I didn't know anybody was in here."

"You okay?" Alex asked as he slowly sat up from his position on his back. His scrub top was off, leaving him in just a black wife beater and his scrub pants. Addison was too distressed to notice, but another time, she would have understood why women gravitated toward him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Addison insisted too quickly. "Why would you think I wasn't fine?" She winced inwardly at the higher pitch her voice assumed.

Alex just gave her a knowing stare, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to creep onto his face at her stubbornness. "Well, the fact that you practically hit the ceiling when you _ducked_ inside here and realized you weren't alone was kind of a tipoff," he stated dryly, watching with delight as Addison allowed her lips to twitch upward and her eyes to betray some of the amusement as she pictured how she must have looked to him. "You can tell me, you know."

Addison bit her bottom lip, going over the past few days in her head. He had become a confidante of a sort to her concerning all things Derek. Anytime she tried to figure that out, she ended up really confused. In a ridiculously short time, he'd gone from being a cocky intern who was annoyingly good at his job to being a helpful, caring person who she enjoyed having on her service. It kind of freaked her out. "It's just—I left…him last night," she confided, sliding down to sit on the floor (and remaining fully conscious of the fact she was in a skirt by folding her legs to the side). She still couldn't say his name. She hadn't been able to since she found the panties in his pocket.

Alex's eyes widened. "Did you talk to him?" She shook her head, her perfectly styled red hair swinging around her face. "You just left?"

She nodded, sadness replacing the small amount of amusement in her eyes and then some. "I left him a note and the divorce papers we drew up last year, which I signed this time, and then I cleared all my things out of the trailer," she explained solemnly. "I just couldn't face him. I couldn't confront him."

"Hence the ducking into on-call rooms bit?" Alex prompted. She nodded again. She looked up at him from her spot on the floor, and Alex's heart reached out to her as he saw her clear blue eyes gloss over with unshed tears. Before he knew it, he was sitting right beside her and wrapping her in a tight hug while she finally let it all out. They both knew she hadn't cried until then, and they both knew how much she needed to. "It'll all be okay," he soothed as he rubbed her back. "You'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" Addison practically blubbered into his shoulder. _There's no going back to normal now,_ she thought to herself, _not when I've cried like a baby into him._ The worst part? She was too emotionally spent to be embarrassed.

"Thing's are going to be looking up. You'll find someone else, and you'll be happy again," he promised, determination stirring in his brown eyes. "You will."

**8D**

Meredith looked so hopefully at him all through surgery, which only made Derek all the guiltier. It only reminded him of the pain he caused his wife—she _was_ still his wife—and the fact he also helped Meredith cheat on her boyfriend. Dr. Dandridge was actually a decent guy, and neither he nor Addison deserved what he and Meredith did to them.

Derek almost wished his patient would start spontaneously bleeding where he shouldn't be bleeding. Then Derek would have to focus solely on keeping the patient alive instead of on the fact that he hadn't seen his wife in two days.

**A/N: It's a tad short, but I've got friends coming over for a RENT-fest in a couple hours, and I have to read 15 more pages of **_**All the King's Men**_**, buy some eggs and make myself look less like crap before they come. I just really wanted to update this, and I **_**did**_** go over my minimum word count limit of 1,000 words, ringing in at a solid 1,083 words. Impressive right? Okay, now there's just one thing missing from this author's note. It's usually in all caps, and I'm sure you know what I'm about to say now. If not, well, here it is anyway: REVIEW!**


	7. How to Look Great

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7: How to Look Great

**A/N: So I just reread my author's notes from last chapter, and I really don't remember having a RENT-fest at all. I'm sure it happened, but I'm wondering why my parents would let me a New Year's Party one night and then a RENT-fest the next night. I'm probably only going to give myself a headache if I keep going in this train of thought. Anyway, here's Chapter 7, seven months later. Enjoy!**

_Derek almost wished his patient would start spontaneously bleeding where he shouldn't be bleeding. Then Derek would have to focus solely on keeping the patient alive instead of on the fact that he hadn't seen his wife in two days._

Day Three of the Wife Watch. That's what Derek called it in his head, his desperate need to find his wife and try to make some semblance of an apology, even though they both knew he really had no hope of fixing anything. An apology wouldn't erase the fact that he cheated on her when she was trying her hardest to make their marriage work.

What was worse, Derek noted with an extra helping of guilt on his already piled plate, was that it _had_ been working for a brief, glorious window of time right before prom. It was like he'd given her a false sense of hope and then snatched it away from under her.

Great, as if he didn't feel terrible enough.

Wife Watch was slowly but surely becoming a little more successful with each passing day. Today Derek actually managed to catch a flash of red hair disappearing around a corner at the end of the hall. That was a start, at least.

**8D**

Around the corner, Addison leaned against the wall and heaved a huge sigh, closing her eyes and resting the back of her head against the wall. As she stood there, breathing in and out very slowly and deliberately, she was overtaken by a sudden wave of anger and indignation.

Why the hell was _she_ the one who always had to run? Why wasn't _he_ being forced to find new pathways in the hospital? After all, _he_ was the one who cheated this time. _He_ was the one who broke her heart this time. Besides, God knew he had enough practice seeing as little as possible of her when they still lived in New York, when he'd use work as something to constantly push her away.

She was tired of running. She had as much of a right to be in this hospital as he did, and she didn't see him scurrying away from her like a scared puppy. If anything, he seemed to be trying to seek her out. Well, if he wanted to see her, she'd make him see her.

But she needed to make sure she looked fabulous when he did.

Taking the stairs up to the attendings' locker room, Addison rushed to the full-length mirror that hung on each side of the room's frame of lockers. She was wearing a red, white and black patterned wrap top with a black pencil skirt and her signature red heels. Okay, clothing: check. Her makeup and hair, on the other hand, needed some desperate freshening up.

**8D**

Alex lifted his head from the countertop of the nurses' station at the sound of high heels clicking on the tile floor of the hospital. He didn't even really have to look to know it was Addison. Those heels carried a sound of confidence as they echoed throughout the halls of Seattle Grace. Alex lifted his head because those heels carried more confidence than usual.

All the breath left Alex's lungs as his eyes drank in the incredibly gorgeous and sexy woman (yet still completely professional) strutting towards him. It wasn't as if she'd done anything noticeably different. He'd seen her for a second in passing earlier that morning, but then she had been drawn into herself, almost furtive and scared. Now she was anything but.

Addison's hair, pin straight until it curled under at the ends, softly reflected the hallway's fluorescent lighting in a way that made Alex just want to run his hands through it and maybe even tangle them in there. Her eyes popped, drawing in every person who looked at them, man or woman, just as much as her small smirk did, with an amused quirk of berry red lips that begged to be kissed. And—

_Get a hold of yourself!_ Alex yelled internally. _Stop fantasizing about your boss. She just left her husband, for God's sake!_

"Good morning, Karev," Addison smirked, loving the effect she was having on him. He wasn't being exactly subtle in ogling her. A minute more, and he'd be drooling.

As if her voice snapped him out of a daze, Alex stopped picturing himself untying the belt on her shirt and kissing that undeniably soft skin along her jaw and… Well, he stopped picturing himself doing a lot of things and raised his eyes to meet hers. "Good morning, Dr. Montgomery," he replied, slightly out of breath.

"What's with you?" she asked, still unable to hide a small amused smile on her face. She opened the first chart of a pile for their patients that day and began to read.

"You, uh, you…you look nice," Alex stammered lamely. He still couldn't take his eyes off her, so he just watched her read the charts.

Her smile widened a little bit before she turned her head to look at him, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "It's not like I come to work every day looking like I got dressed in the dark, Karev," she remarked. It may not have been nice to continue to tease him, but she loved seeing him off balance. Besides, his reaction was telling her she looked hot enough to face Derek. Rule Number One of How to Look Great: never look like you tried to look great. She knew Alex wouldn't be able to point out a single thing she did differently than any other day, but she also knew that Alex was still looking at her like a starving animal. Subtlety was always the key.

"No, not at all!" Alex rushed to correct himself, afraid he'd insulted her. "That's not what I meant, but…"

Laughing, Addison decided she'd tortured her intern enough. She turned to him fully and handed him a chart, making him trail off uncertainly. "I'm just messing with you, Karev, calm down. Thank you," she smiled. "Now, come on, we have patients to tend to."

As soon as she finished talking, she turned around and started walking down the hall. Alex stood there for a couple of seconds, his eyes trailing down her retreating body hungrily, until a somewhat sharp, "Karev!" snapped him into hurrying to catch up to the attending.

**8D**

Derek stood, frozen, just down the hall from the nurses' station. He'd seen the entire exchange between Addison and Karev, and what he saw shocked him to his core.

One, Addison looked incredible. It must have just been because he hadn't seen her in three days, but she looked breathtaking. And that smile…

But that wasn't what made his heart stop—well, not the only thing. She always made his heart stop whenever he actually saw her. No, what made his heart tighten in his chest so much that he could barely breathe were the looks her intern kept giving her.

Derek stumbled into an empty on call room and sat down on the bottom bunk, burying his head in his hands. He'd seen those types of looks before. He was quite familiar with them—he used to shoot them at his wife whenever he could.

Alex Karev was in love with his wife. Derek had royally screwed up and possibly lost the love of his life forever, and Karev was staring at her like a lovesick puppy. He'd be there to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

"What the hell have I done?" Derek moaned.

**A/N: Ah, and now it gets interesting! I hope it was interesting before, and I hope it still is interesting. I just wanted to say something other than my usual, "So, what did you think?" But that doesn't mean I **_**don't**_** want to know what you think. I genuinely, honestly want to know what you think. Do you remember how to tell me? REVIEW!**


	8. The End of Wife Watch

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 8: The End of Wife Watch

**A/N: You love me. Remember? You love or at least like me. Remember that.**

**A/N 2: Sorry about all the typos! I typed this up in a hurry and forgot to proofread. In my notebook it's perfectly grammatically correct! I've fixed them now, so thanks to KarenBCN for pointing them out!**

Day four of Wife Watch.

Derek was going insane. He supposed he was gaining ground on tracking down his wife in that now he saw her everywhere. Actually getting close enough to talk to her, on the other hand, proved to be much more difficult. Besides, talking to her meant actually getting her alone, which would mean surgically removing Alex Karev from Addison's hip.

Addison was still his wife. Now, to actually _tell_ her that little piece of news.

There was the rub.

Especially since Alex Karev was madly in love with his wife. Derek felt his hands clench in his coat pockets at the thought. Obviously, Alex himself didn't even know he loved her, which was a small blessing for Derek. But he only had a rapidly closing window of time to appeal to his wife.

Derek really was going insane.

**8D**

Addison wasn't faring much better. She may have been appearing cool and collected to her soon-to-be ex-husband, but seeing him all the time and not bursting into tears instantly was wearing on her nerves. As she waited for Alex to come back with her coffee, she leaned against the railing of the bridge looking down on the rest of the hospital. A sigh escaped her lips. She hadn't been sleeping well since prom, when all this torment started up again.

The exhaustion, coupled with the dissolution of her marriage, gave her the emotional stability of a paper airplane. When she wasn't fighting tears, she was yelling at Alex for no reason—or focusing completely on her patients to distract herself from her mess of a personal life. She longed for the happiness she'd felt two weeks ago, when she and Derek had hot shower sex and were playful and loving the next day. How was that only two weeks ago?

"Coffee for your thoughts?" Alex's voice sounded beside her, and a to-go cup of coffee appeared beneath her nose.

"My thoughts are pretty depressing, to be honest," she admitted, taking the cup gratefully.

Alex leaned against the railing beside her. "I'd be worried if they weren't, with all that's going on."

Another sigh answered her intern's comment. "I'm just ready to stop feeling so crappy."

"Are you feeling any worse than usual?" he asked worriedly. "All this stress, and you said you haven't been sleeping well. You could be getting sick."

A grimace flashed across the redhead's face as she smelled her coffee. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a little nauseous. I don't think I can handle coffee right now."

Without another word, Alex took the coffee from her hand and pointed in the direction of the nearest on-call room. "Go. Sleep."

"But—" Addison tried to protest.

"Now," he cut her off. "Page me if the nausea gets worse, and I'll bring you some cold water and antacids."

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be _your_ boss," Addison muttered.

"When you feel better, sure. But for now, get yourself in bed."

**8D**

"Now now, Meredith," Derek said tiredly as he stepped into the elevator.

"When, then, Derek?" Meredith demanded in exasperation. She stepped in with him.

"I don't know."

"Fine. Just tell me if you still even want me to choose between you and Finn."

Derek looked at the mousy intern sideways and returned his gaze to the elevator doors. "I want you to pick Finn."

He didn't have to turn and see to know that shock played on her face. "You what?" she sputtered.

"I'm married, Meredith, and I slept with you. I hurt Addie worse than she ever hurt me when she slept with Mark," Derek explained. "I would hurt you, and Finn is the person who deserves you. I deserve to lose out, but I'm going to do everything in my power to keep Addie from divorcing me."

Silence answered him, and he looked over to see Meredith trying to put on a brave face, despite how the hurt took her by surprise. "Meredith?"

Blinking away the first traces of tears in her eyes, she faced him. "I'm fine, Dr. Shepherd. Thank you for your honesty, and I'll try to follow your advice."

"I'm glad."

The elevator doors opened. "Good luck with your wife, Dr. Shepherd," she said as she stepped out of the cabin.

Derek smiled softly. "Thank you, Dr. Grey."

She allowed herself a weak smile in return before she turned around and walked away.

**8D**

Addison lay staring at the ceiling in the dark on-call room, wondering for the eleven hundredth time when she and her intern grew close enough to warrant his level of concern and familiarity with her. He was really the only thing keeping her sane, which was thoroughly confusing. He just stopped being a cocky ass towards her after the prom last week.

Another uncomfortable turning of the stomach interrupted the redhead's thoughts. With a groan, she rolled over onto her side and checked that the garbage can was still next to her bed. She refused to page Alex to bring water and nausea suppressants. He'd ask questions, questions to which she had no answers, especially since she had no idea why she felt so sick.

God, she _hated_ this! Why the hell did her husband have to sleep with another woman at the prom? Why did she have to find Meredith Grey's black lacy panties in her husband's tux pants pocket? Why couldn't she have just continued on in ignorance and have more hot shower sex like they'd shared two weeks ag—

Addison's eyes widened. Without a moment's hesitation, she reached to get her phone from the nightstand and dialed the familiar number before holding the BlackBerry up to her ear.

"Dr. Torres," Callie's voice answered professionally.

"Callie, are you busy?" Addison asked, her stomach doing back flips.

"What's up?"

"I'm in the on-call room on the second floor just before the bridge. Can you come here please?"

"Um, sure," Callie agreed slowly. "Is everything okay?"

Addison bit her lip. "Could you bring a pregnancy test?"

**8D**

Derek rubbed his face tiredly. Whatever progress he'd made thus far with Wife Watch had gone to waste. He'd seen neither hide nor hair of his wife all day. Shrugging into his coat, he slung his bag onto his shoulder and made his way out of the attending's locker room and down the hall toward the elevator.

Maybe he should just give it a rest for a couple of days. He didn't want to seem like he was stalking her. He just wanted to talk, maybe find some way to get her to forgive him. Sighing, he pressed the down button for the elevator.

A few seconds later, a bell sounded and the doors slid open. He looked up to see his wife, finally, standing there looking proud, but vulnerable—and beautiful.

Cautiously, he stepped into the cabin and allowed the doors to close. Silence descended.

"We usually see each other on the elevators," he whispered. "I haven't seen you lately."

"I've been taking the stairs," she declared softly.

A few more seconds of silence ensued until Derek couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward and pulled the emergency stop button. "Addie, I am so sorry for what I did at prom. I was stupid and was going through some kind of mental break. I had to have been to be so cruel and moronic so as to hurt you like that just as we were starting to get back to normal. I know I really don't deserve it, but I still want to be your husband. I don't want to sign those papers. I know I've been a crappy husband and I haven't said it nearly enough, but I love you, Addison, and I don't want to lose you."

He concluded his speech breathing heavily. Addison's blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she examined his face for any trace of doubt or obligation. She seemed to be debating telling him something.

"Please say something," he begged.

Addison took a deep breath and dropped the bomb: "You're going to be a daddy."

Derek froze. "What?"

She sniffed. "I'm pregnant, and I don't know whether or not I'm exactly happy about it."

"What? Why? That's great news!"

"Because you slept with another woman, Derek!" she yelled. "I finally admitted to myself that our marriage is over, and now I'm pregnant with your child! What the hell should I be feeling right now?" She sniffed again. "I've wanted to have a baby with you for so long, and now I am, but I don't know if I can handle it anymore."

Derek stepped forward and gently kissed her on the lips, pouring all his love and reassurance into the kiss. "You absolutely can handle it. Please come back home. I'll help you. We'll get a real house so you don't have to put up with the trailer anymore. Just please try to forgive me."

Uncertainty swam in her eyes. "It's going to take a while."

"I deserve that," Derek agreed. "But we can go out tomorrow and look at houses. I'll do anything."

Addison bit her lip, at a loss for what to do. She didn't know if she could trust him anymore, but she didn't want her child to grow up without a father. And Derek forgave her once, although he'd had a relationship, too. _Ugh!_ "Okay," she finally said. "We can try again. But this is our last chance."

**A/N: Don't hurt me! You love me, remember? You don't want to maim me so that I can no longer write! This story still has a ways to go, so please do me a favor and review! Try not to scream too many expletives at me, if that's at all possible.**


	9. Breaking News

Love Squared

A **Grey's Anatomy** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Breaking News

**A/N: I don't even know why I apologize anymore as it **_**always**_** takes me unconscionably long to update these fics. But I **_**am**_** sorry! It always takes a while for the Greys writing bug to bite since I stopped watching years ago, but I've at least got this chapter! I mean…you'll still like me enough to read it? Maybe? Please?**

Derek went to the Archfield with Addison that night. He wasn't going to make her sleep in the trailer ever again. Addison was silent as she opened the door to room 2214. A plush, king-sized bed stood in the center of the room. Addison kicked off her heels and let herself fall onto the bed, slipping into sleep instantly, curled up around a pillow.

Derek simply watched her for a few minutes, wondering if she'd wake up soon for dinner. He stood awkwardly in the small hallway in front of the door, unsure of what to do next. He had a feeling he'd be unsure for a _very_ long time.

**xoxoxo**

The next morning was equally as awkward. Addison, who used to be so comfortable in her own skin around him, took her clothes into the bathroom to change. She came out half an hour later completely ready to go. Derek wanted to go to her, wrap his arms around her, kiss her, and tell her how beautiful she was. He wanted to, but it was too soon for that. He knew she wouldn't appreciate it.

Addison was silent in the passenger seat as Derek drove them to work. She contented herself with staring out the window, not having the slightest idea of what to say to her husband. There was such an emptiness in her chest now that, although she more than regretted sleeping with Mark in New York, she hated herself even more for inflicting this kind of pain on her husband. A small, selfish part of her acknowledged with no small amount of bitterness that, had she refrained from using adultery to get his attention, he wouldn't have even met the woman he cheated on her with at prom. Right then, knowing that he hadn't cared enough about fixing their marriage to not sleep with his intern, feeling that lost and hopeless, she started to suffocate. Opening the window did nothing. She just needed to not be near him for a little while.

The second Derek pulled into the parking lot, Addison all but bounded out of the car.

**xoxoxo**

Alex looked up when he heard his name called to see Addison walking toward him. "Morning," he greeted, offering her one of the cups of coffee he held in his hands.

Shaking her head, Addison pushed away the cup regretfully. "I can't drink coffee for a while, Karev. But thank you."

"You're a surgeon; coffee is like water to you," Alex scoffed. "The only surgeons I've ever known to turn away coffee were pregnant ones."

Addison shifted uneasily on her feet as she dropped her gaze to the charts on the counter. Alex's stomach plummeted.

"So you and Shepherd are having a baby." He tried to keep the jealousy and bitterness out of his voice. Unfortunately, that just left a flat, empty tone, which was no better at hiding that he was upset by the news.

An almost painfully slow nod confirmed it. "He asked me to take him back," she whispered tiredly. "And now that I'm having a baby with him, I can't not try one last time to save our marriage."

Alex wanted to scream and punch a wall. He wanted to yell that the marriage was beyond saving, that Derek and Meredith had seen to that. He wanted to do so many things, but it was not his place. So he settled for a grumbled "I guess that makes sense."

The pair of them forgot they were standing at the nurses station, well within earshot of several people, who were none too happy to spread the baby news like wildfire. Addison's pregnancy would be common knowledge in the halls of Seattle Grace by lunchtime.

**xoxoxo**

All throughout rounds and her first surgery of the day, a small part of Addison's mind kept turning over the issue of her marriage. She knew from her own experience in Derek's position that all his efforts to make his indiscretions up to her would be for naught if she refused to accept them. If she was going to do this one last time, she'd commit to it. After all, he'd done it for her. They had even almost been back to normal.

She would give it a genuine try. She had to.

**xoxoxo**

By lunchtime, Alex looked as if he'd been chewing nails, practically glaring holes into the neurosurgeon's skull, which was approaching Addison with two boxes of what was clearly not hospital food. He wanted to kick something when he saw her look up and smile, any previous hesitation gone from her demeanor.

How could she have forgiven him so easily? Because of the baby? Having a baby didn't erase the way he hurt her. Bringing her good, non-hospital food didn't make up for all the unhappiness he'd caused her. Alex understood her need to try to fix things for the sake of the baby, but not by just _ignoring_ the events at the prom altogether!

"Hello, Grumpy," Meredith greeted as she set her tray down next to him. He grunted, dropping his gaze to his food. "Can you come over after work and try to convince Izzie to get off the floor?"

Alex's eyes slid over to his fellow intern. "I wouldn't be of any help to her," he answered gruffly.

"You would be more help than Christina was." For talking about their severely depressed friend, Meredith sounded almost...happy.

A giant bubble of resentment suddenly rose in Alex's chest for Meredith. He'd always been okay with the mousy blonde, but now he could only see her as the woman who helped hurt Addison. He couldn't help but say, "So I take it you haven't heard the happy news."

Meredith froze with a fry halfway to her mouth. "What news?" Alex allowed his eyes to flit up to where Addison sat with Meredith's precious McDreamy. "She took him back?" her voice sounded hollow as she forced the words out.

"Here's the kicker: they're having a baby." Just saying those words made his stomach turn.

The fry dropped out of Meredith's hand. "You're kidding," she breathed.

Alex dropped his gaze once more and took a long sip of his soda, wishing it was Jack Daniels. "Wish I was."

**xoxoxo**

Addison was fully aware of the pair of interns staring at her and Derek. She tried to keep her focus on their conversation and not on how upset Al-Karev had looked when she told him the news. She still wasn't exactly sure when she started caring about her intern's feelings, but if she wanted to make it work with Derek, she had to forget anything other than a work relationship with Alex. For her own sanity, before she started analyzing her feelings about him. "So how's Preston doing?" she asked quietly.

Derek sighed. "He won't say, just that there's less pain today."

"Less pain is good," the redhead mused absently before yet another awkward silence descended upon them. Picking at her salad, Addison squirmed in her seat. They never used to have a problem with talking.

Apparently her husband had the same thought. "I hate this," he whispered so that only she could hear him.

"Me, too," she admitted just as softly. "I'm trying, Derek. I really am, but I can't forget about it."

"I don't expect you to," he insisted. Addison cocked her head to the side and took a deep breath at his honest words. "I know how much I hurt you, and I know I can't erase it. I can only hope to earn back your trust." _And love_, he added silently.

"It's going to take a while." When did her voice get so small?

"I know," Derek exhaled. He ran a hand through his dark hair, and for the first time, Addison saw a streak of gray peeking out of his hairline. He looked exhausted. She watched him screw up his eyes in concentration, staring into his salad as if hoping to find a solution among the lettuce. He must have found something there, because he lifted his head and asked, "What would you say to a first date?"

Addison felt her eyebrows raise as she tried to decipher what exactly he was asking. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we could use a fresh start," Derek explained, suddenly very excited. He shifted his chair closer to his wife's and held out his hands on the table as he developed his new idea. "What if we started over? I'll take you out on a first date; we'll get dressed up and learn about each other all over again."

A fresh start. The idea seemed almost laughable to the redhead, considering the fact that she was pregnant with his baby. How could you have a fresh start when you only had nine months to fix your marriage? The idea bordered on absurd, not to mention it sounded like one of those clichés you saw in those trite romantic comedies.

But...it did, on some level, appeal to her. She was sure that they were radically different people than they were on their first date 14 years ago. Learning who they were now...well that didn't sound so absurd. "When?" she finally asked, unable to stop the small smile at Derek's giant sigh of relief. He dropped his head in his hands, and when he raised it his hair was slightly mussed and he was beaming. He did that when he asked her out 14 years ago, too.

"Tonight?"

Addison nodded as she stood up. "Pick me up at 8." She flashed him the same hopeful smile that she gave him on their real first date and left to go scrub in for her next surgery. Maybe their fresh start was just what they needed.

**xoxoxo**

People were staring at her stomach. Addison almost looked down to see if she'd spilled anything on her shirt, but she still had _some_ pride left. But people were definitely staring at her stomach as she walked down the hallway. "Well that was fast," she muttered under her breath just as she reached the nurses station and the grumpy intern leaning against it.

"What was?" Karev grunted.

Addison rolled her eyes. "People have been staring at my stomach since lunch. Deduce." She sighed and opened a chart, scanning the patient's vitals. "I bet they all think I'm using this to trap Derek. Hell, they probably think I made the whole thing up."

There was a beat of silence before Alex turned to face her. "If they do, they're a bunch of dicks," he declared, emotion finally returning to his voice. "The only people whose opinions matter are yours, Derek's, and whoever is smart enough to have you as a close friend."

A small smile twitched the corners of Addison's mouth upwards as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "And what do you think?"

Alex's eyebrows shot up. "Does my opinion matter?"

He seemed genuinely surprised when she nodded. "I don't know how you did it, Karev, but you managed to wriggle your way into the status of 'close friend,'" she said wryly.

Alex looked at her for a few seconds. Addison could see the indecision behind those warm brown eyes, although indecision about what she didn't really feel comfortable about considering. The look faded from his face as he put on a supportive smile. "I'm happy for you," he announced. He'd clearly made up his mind about something; honesty rang in his voice. "I know you've always wanted a baby, and I think it's very like a mother to want to give your kid a stable family so it's great you and Shepherd are trying to fix things."

Silence. Whatever Addison had been expecting, Alex Karev's full support was not it. "Thank you," she breathed, but as they both turned back to their charts, she tried not to dwell on the pit that just appeared in her stomach.

**A/N: I know it's a little slow, but it's kind of the pace that the story has to go. Love triangles and squares are never resolved quickly. Now I hope to whichever god or spirit you choose that you don't hate me for taking so long with this. Please review! I'll do a dance.**


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